Trimethylxanthine is the world's most popular psychoactive drug - for many caffeine is such a ubiquitous substance that calling it a drug seems like a misnomer. How could something so widely used that has so few regulations around it be a drug? But a drug is simply a chemical substance that affects our nervous system function and can result in changes to our perception, mood, cognition, and behavior. I feel like caffeine ticks the box pretty well on all those accounts.In today's episode, we'll be exploring how caffeine works - some of its benefits and negatives and then we'll be looking at what we know about how caffeine and ADHD mix.Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/91This Episode's Top TipsCaffeine is a psychoactive drug whose primary mechanism is binding to adenosine receptors in the brain. The buildup of adenosine in our system is what makes us sleepy, so by binding to these receptors caffeine is able to keep us awake.Caffeine has a host of benefits but having too much caffeine near bedtime can affect our slow-wave sleep and reduce our total amount of sleep.There is still a lot of research that needs to be done on the interaction between caffeine and ADHD but it is clear that many people with ADHD attempt to self-medicate with caffeine.

Trimethylxanthine is the world's most popular psychoactive drug - for many caffeine is such a ubiquitous substance that calling it a drug seems like a misnomer. How could something so widely used that has so few regulations around it be a drug? But a drug is simply a chemical substance that affects our nervous system function and can result in changes to our perception, mood, cognition, and behavior. I feel like caffeine ticks the box pretty well on all those accounts.In today's episode, we'll be exploring how caffeine works - some of its benefits and negatives and then we'll be looking at what we know about how caffeine and ADHD mix. Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/91" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/91</a> This Episode's Top Tips<ol><li>Caffeine is a psychoactive drug whose primary mechanism is binding to adenosine receptors in the brain. The buildup of adenosine in our system is what makes us sleepy, so by binding to these receptors caffeine is able to keep us awake.</li><li>Caffeine has a host of benefits but having too much caffeine near bedtime can affect our slow-wave sleep and reduce our total amount of sleep.</li><li>There is still a lot of research that needs to be done on the interaction between caffeine and ADHD but it is clear that many people with ADHD attempt to self-medicate with caffeine.</li></ol>

Caffeine Deep Dive (rebroadcast)

Over the last few weeks, I have hit a number of points where it all just felt like too much - now there are a number of things that have contributed to this, but one of the keys always behind when I get overwhelmed is doing too much. This is despite the fact that even when I have too much on my plate it always feels like I should be doing more. That I could squeeze in just a few more things and then… well then I’d probably also still be trying to add more things to do.In today’s episode, we’re going to be exploring why doing more isn’t usually the best thing for us to pursue and how doing less can actually help us actually accomplish the things we really want to do.Support me on PatreonFeel free to ask me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/111This Episode's Top TipsPrioritizing with ADHD can be difficult and that is only made more difficult as we add more and more to what we’re doing. When we’re able to pare down the amount we’re doing we can then better prioritize all the things that actually need to get done.We don’t have to do everything that ends up on our to-do lists - it’s okay to cross things out even if we haven’t completed them.We only have so much cognitive capacity to focus on any given thing and the more open loops we the more we are going to be drawing on that cognitive capacity. Our best bet for dealing with open loops is to work on simply opening fewer of them by taking less on.

Over the last few weeks, I have hit a number of points where it all just felt like too much - now there are a number of things that have contributed to this, but one of the keys always behind when I get overwhelmed is doing too much. This is despite the fact that even when I have too much on my plate it always feels like I should be doing more. That I could squeeze in just a few more things and then… well then I’d probably also still be trying to add more things to do.In today’s episode, we’re going to be exploring why doing more isn’t usually the best thing for us to pursue and how doing less can actually help us actually accomplish the things we really want to do. Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Feel free to ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/111" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/111</a> This Episode's Top Tips<ol><li>Prioritizing with ADHD can be difficult and that is only made more difficult as we add more and more to what we’re doing. When we’re able to pare down the amount we’re doing we can then better prioritize all the things that actually need to get done.</li><li>We don’t have to do everything that ends up on our to-do lists - it’s okay to cross things out even if we haven’t completed them.</li><li>We only have so much cognitive capacity to focus on any given thing and the more open loops we the more we are going to be drawing on that cognitive capacity. Our best bet for dealing with open loops is to work on simply opening fewer of them by taking less on.</li></ol>

Too Much (rebroadcast)

One of the ideas that I’ve been playing with lately is how to go about my planning in a more natural way or perhaps a better phrase would be functional, because while I love the idea of planning it doesn’t always work out how I want to it to.And to be clear, I don’t mean that my plans don’t work out, what I’ve been grappling with is that often when I do my planning I’ve failing to do it in a way that encompasses both my professional and personal life. I think this is an aspect of layering on my personal planning over my professional planning - but really I should be doing it the other way around. It makes more sense for me to build my planning around things like saying when my kids are in and out of school. It should be based on what’s going on in my life around me.And so it dawned on me that one of the ways I could adjust this planning was to focus that planning that was seasonal - because with each season there are definite changes in how I go about my life. And so today we’re going to be exploring how we can look at planning with those seasonal changes in mind.Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/seasonalplanningThis Episode’s Top TipsWhen we’re writing out our plans we’re not creating some set-in-stone document that we can’t vire from - our plans should be malleable. It’s also important that we’re checking in with our plans as often as we need to so that we can stay on track.By planning with the seasons in mind we’re thinking about the way our lives change with the seasons - are we going to be staying indoors or outdoors more? Are there seasonal events we want to keep in mind? What are the things you’re going to be looking forward to in those seasons?Once you’ve figured out how you want your season to go you can break it down into what you want each month to look like and then take that information to plan out your coming days and weeks.

One of the ideas that I’ve been playing with lately is how to go about my planning in a more natural way or perhaps a better phrase would be functional, because while I love the idea of planning it doesn’t always work out how I want to it to.And to be clear, I don’t mean that my plans don’t work out, what I’ve been grappling with is that often when I do my planning I’ve failing to do it in a way that encompasses both my professional and personal life. I think this is an aspect of layering on my personal planning over my professional planning - but really I should be doing it the other way around. It makes more sense for me to build my planning around things like saying when my kids are in and out of school. It should be based on what’s going on in my life around me.And so it dawned on me that one of the ways I could adjust this planning was to focus that planning that was seasonal - because with each season there are definite changes in how I go about my life. And so today we’re going to be exploring how we can look at planning with those seasonal changes in mind. Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/seasonalplanning" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/seasonalplanning</a> This Episode’s Top Tips<ol><li>When we’re writing out our plans we’re not creating some set-in-stone document that we can’t vire from - our plans should be malleable. It’s also important that we’re checking in with our plans as often as we need to so that we can stay on track.</li><li>By planning with the seasons in mind we’re thinking about the way our lives change with the seasons - are we going to be staying indoors or outdoors more? Are there seasonal events we want to keep in mind? What are the things you’re going to be looking forward to in those seasons?</li><li>Once you’ve figured out how you want your season to go you can break it down into what you want each month to look like and then take that information to plan out your coming days and weeks.</li></ol>

Seasonal Planning (rebroadcast)

Saman Kesh

Today we’ve got a bit of a different episode coming your way - in this episode, I talk with award-winning director Saman Kesh. Kesh is known for his narrative music video work with artists such as Basement Jaxx, Calvin Harris, and Placebo.In our broad-ranging conversation, we talk about the creative process and having ADHD, medication, therapy, and a whole host of other topics. This episode is a bit more of the practical side of managing ADHD, and there are great tips littered throughout the episode.Support me on PatreonFeel free to ask me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/samankesh

Today we’ve got a bit of a different episode coming your way - in this episode, I talk with award-winning director Saman Kesh. Kesh is known for his narrative music video work with artists such as Basement Jaxx, Calvin Harris, and Placebo.In our broad-ranging conversation, we talk about the creative process and having ADHD, medication, therapy, and a whole host of other topics. This episode is a bit more of the practical side of managing ADHD, and there are great tips littered throughout the episode. Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Feel free to ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/samankesh" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/samankesh</a>

Creativity and ADHD with Saman Kesh (rebroadcast)

Hey team,This week I’ve got an awesome conversation for you with Jodi Lasky -Jodi is a seasoned entrepreneur, coach, and author with extensive knowledge in neuropsychology, accountability, productivity, and introversion. Drawing on her background in Communication, Culture, and Technology, as well as law, Jodi has dedicated her career to understanding leadership and personal tendencies. Her coaching program, 'The Introvert Founder', leverages her understanding to help introverted entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of business success, encouraging them to work in harmony with their natural tendencies rather than battling against them.In our conversation today, talk about using the ideas from Agile Product Development and implementing them for personal goal setting and planning. But we also explore issues around neurodivergence, particularly focusing on ADHD and introversion. Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/146This Episode's Top TipsWe can consider using Agile Planning and Scrum for our planning by tracking progress in short cycles, maintaining a to-do list (backlog), and managing priorities. The backlog is especially helpful for keeping yourself on task as new ideas come up.Introversion and extroversion are more about how you recharge your energy. Introverts recharge by being alone or with a few close friends, while extroverts gain energy from being in larger groups. Understanding this about yourself can help you better manage your energy throughout the day and avoid burnout.Whether it's introversion or ADHD, we can stop fighting against our natural tendencies and instead find ways to work with them. We can work on accepting our neurodivergence and explore ways that it can serve us in our personal and professional life. For many of us, this means avoiding "hustle culture" that promotes working incessantly. We need to prioritize a balanced schedule that allows for rest and personal time.

Hey team,This week I’ve got an awesome conversation for you with Jodi Lasky -Jodi is a seasoned entrepreneur, coach, and author with extensive knowledge in neuropsychology, accountability, productivity, and introversion. Drawing on her background in Communication, Culture, and Technology, as well as law, Jodi has dedicated her career to understanding leadership and personal tendencies. Her coaching program, 'The Introvert Founder', leverages her understanding to help introverted entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of business success, encouraging them to work in harmony with their natural tendencies rather than battling against them.In our conversation today, talk about using the ideas from Agile Product Development and implementing them for personal goal setting and planning. But we also explore issues around neurodivergence, particularly focusing on ADHD and introversion.  Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/146" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/146</a> This Episode's Top Tips<ol><li>We can consider using Agile Planning and Scrum for our planning by tracking progress in short cycles, maintaining a to-do list (backlog), and managing priorities. The backlog is especially helpful for keeping yourself on task as new ideas come up.</li><li>Introversion and extroversion are more about how you recharge your energy. Introverts recharge by being alone or with a few close friends, while extroverts gain energy from being in larger groups. Understanding this about yourself can help you better manage your energy throughout the day and avoid burnout.</li><li>Whether it's introversion or ADHD, we can stop fighting against our natural tendencies and instead find ways to work with them. We can work on accepting our neurodivergence and explore ways that it can serve us in our personal and professional life. For many of us, this means avoiding "hustle culture" that promotes working incessantly. We need to prioritize a balanced schedule that allows for rest and personal time.</li></ol>

Unmasking Introversion and Harnessing Neurodiversity in Entrepreneurship with Jodi Lasky

When it comes to understanding our ADHD it can be a bit of a minefield to navigate - one of our most pernicious problems is that often we're never really educated in what it means to have ADHD. And to top that off, what we learn from pop-culture just reinforces stereotypes that don't really reflect what ADHD is actually about.One of the most important ways to help manage our ADHD is to accept it, but that can be really hard to do if we don't actually have a good grasp of what having ADHD means. So in today's episode, we're going to be diving into the ADHD subtypes (or presentations as it's now being called) → there are the 3 kinds of ADHD that you might be diagnosed with, hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive, and combined.Today we're going to be exploring these presentations of ADHD and working on understanding how this can help define our own ADHD. Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/subtypesThis Episode’s Top TipsADHD is a spectrum disorder, which means that it includes a wide list of conditions and severity which means that your ADHD is just that, yours. No one is going to have the exact same symptoms that you do, so don't worry about comparing yourself to others even if you do resonate with a lot of the stories you hear in the community.The three presentations of ADHD are Hyperactive-Impulsive, Inattentive, and Combined. We can roughly estimate that about 10% of diagnoses are hyperactive-impulsive, 30% are inattentive, and 60% are combined.I know this was basically in the first tip, but it bears repeating - we're all going to be ADHDing in our own way - make sure you're not going to struggle with all the same things that everyone else does so focus on what's going to make the biggest difference for you.

When it comes to understanding our ADHD it can be a bit of a minefield to navigate - one of our most pernicious problems is that often we're never really educated in what it means to have ADHD. And to top that off, what we learn from pop-culture just reinforces stereotypes that don't really reflect what ADHD is actually about.One of the most important ways to help manage our ADHD is to accept it, but that can be really hard to do if we don't actually have a good grasp of what having ADHD means. So in today's episode, we're going to be diving into the ADHD subtypes (or presentations as it's now being called) → there are the 3 kinds of ADHD that you might be diagnosed with, hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive, and combined.Today we're going to be exploring these presentations of ADHD and working on understanding how this can help define our own ADHD. Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/subtypes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/subtypes</a> This Episode’s Top Tips<ol><li>ADHD is a spectrum disorder, which means that it includes a wide list of conditions and severity which means that your ADHD is just that, yours. No one is going to have the exact same symptoms that you do, so don't worry about comparing yourself to others even if you do resonate with a lot of the stories you hear in the community.</li><li>The three presentations of ADHD are Hyperactive-Impulsive, Inattentive, and Combined. We can roughly estimate that about 10% of diagnoses are hyperactive-impulsive, 30% are inattentive, and 60% are combined.</li><li>I know this was basically in the first tip, but it bears repeating - we're all going to be ADHDing in our own way - make sure you're not going to struggle with all the same things that everyone else does so focus on what's going to make the biggest difference for you.</li></ol>

Understanding the ADHD Subtypes (Rebroadcast)

Hey team,I’ve recently been thinking about task initiation a lot, but while working on the first draft of this episode, I realized that there were a few ideas that were important to explore first.So in this episode, we’re going to be exploring some ideas of executive dysfunction, but then we’re also going to be getting into stuff surrounding our mental and physical health and then how we can work on our systems that help keep everything in order. Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/145This Episode's Top TipsWe need to recognize and respect our physical and mental states - it crucial that we’re kind to ourselves and acknowledge that we’re not always going to be at 100%. We don’t always need to pushing ourselves and it’s important to we’re giving ourselves time to recover.It’s important that when we’re build the systems in our lives that we look at making them simple and effective. We want them to be able to work even on our bad days and that means we need to lower the barrier to getting started on them.One great way that we can implement systems with our ADHD is through checklists and creating designated places for things to go. Again our systems are there to help make our life simpler and streamline the things we need to get done.

Hey team,I’ve recently been thinking about task initiation a lot, but while working on the first draft of this episode, I realized that there were a few ideas that were important to explore first.So in this episode, we’re going to be exploring some ideas of executive dysfunction, but then we’re also going to be getting into stuff surrounding our mental and physical health and then how we can work on our systems that help keep everything in order.  Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/145" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/145</a> This Episode's Top Tips <ol><li>We need to recognize and respect our physical and mental states - it crucial that we’re kind to ourselves and acknowledge that we’re not always going to be at 100%. We don’t always need to pushing ourselves and it’s important to we’re giving ourselves time to recover.</li><li>It’s important that when we’re build the systems in our lives that we look at making them simple and effective. We want them to be able to work even on our bad days and that means we need to lower the barrier to getting started on them.</li><li>One great way that we can implement systems with our ADHD is through checklists and creating designated places for things to go. Again our systems are there to help make our life simpler and streamline the things we need to get done.</li></ol>

The Before We Get Started

Hey team, this week I had a great conversation with leadership coach Leigh Collier. In this episode, we go over the process of how she helps individuals discover the best version of themselves by overcoming limiting beliefs. We also delve into topics such as identifying personal strengths, the importance of seeking support from communities, and get into how we can challenge those self-limiting beliefs. We also go over the value of individuality, working with your own brain, and distinguishing coaching from mentoring or therapy. Be sure to check out Leigh's Website: https://www.ttncoaching.com/Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/144This Episode’s Top TipsThose of us with ADHD can face a lot of various challenges when trying to take on a leadership role. Because of this, it is crucial for us to embrace self-leadership and find tools and techniques that work for our brains. We need to experiment with different approaches to enhance our performance and productivity to help us overcome the obstacles that can come up due to our ADHD.It’s important for us to understand the distinction between coaching and mentoring. While mentoring involves imparting wisdom and advice, coaching focuses on facilitating the individual's self-discovery and helping them find their own solutions. Coaching is meant to empower us to think critically, question self-limiting beliefs, and develop a sense of ownership and build self-accountability.We need to be able to recognize the self-limiting beliefs that may be holding us back and preventing us from reaching our full potential. This means that we need to question the thoughts and beliefs we have about ourselves and challenge their validity. We can gain a fresh perspective and develop strategies to help overcome these beliefs by working with a coach or therapist.If we can focus on identifying and leveraging our strengths, we can use those to help propel ourselves in the right direction. We can recognize that our strengths are unique to us and that they can help contribute to our success as leaders.

Hey team, this week I had a great conversation with leadership coach Leigh Collier. In this episode, we go over the process of how she helps individuals discover the best version of themselves by overcoming limiting beliefs. We also delve into topics such as identifying personal strengths, the importance of seeking support from communities, and get into how we can challenge those self-limiting beliefs. We also go over the value of individuality, working with your own brain, and distinguishing coaching from mentoring or therapy. Be sure to check out Leigh's Website: <a href="https://www.ttncoaching.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.ttncoaching.com/</a> Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/143" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/144</a> This Episode’s Top Tips<ol><li>Those of us with ADHD can face a lot of various challenges when trying to take on a leadership role. Because of this, it is crucial for us to embrace self-leadership and find tools and techniques that work for our brains. We need to experiment with different approaches to enhance our performance and productivity to help us overcome the obstacles that can come up due to our ADHD.</li><li>It’s important for us to understand the distinction between coaching and mentoring. While mentoring involves imparting wisdom and advice, coaching focuses on facilitating the individual's self-discovery and helping them find their own solutions. Coaching is meant to empower us to think critically, question self-limiting beliefs, and develop a sense of ownership and build self-accountability.</li><li>We need to be able to recognize the self-limiting beliefs that may be holding us back and preventing us from reaching our full potential. This means that we need to question the thoughts and beliefs we have about ourselves and challenge their validity. We can gain a fresh perspective and develop strategies to help overcome these beliefs by working with a coach or therapist.</li><li>If we can focus on identifying and leveraging our strengths, we can use those to help propel ourselves in the right direction. We can recognize that our strengths are unique to us and that they can help contribute to our success as leaders.</li></ol>

Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs and Embracing Individuality with Leigh Collier

This week I’m talking with Dez Rock, an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience and currently serves as the CEO at SIEMonster - a web security company. But today we’re focusing on her ADHD and how she believes it has made her into an exceptional leader.In our conversation, we discuss our experiences with ADHD and its impact on our lives. We also talk about the importance of deadlines, the challenges and benefits of ADHD, and also touch on the significance of routine. And we also get into the need for support systems, the detrimental effects of shame, and the value of sharing personal stories within the neurodiverse community.Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/143This Episode’s Top TipsBuild routines and establish touchstones throughout the day to provide structure and support productivity. While routine can become boring, having a basic framework can help us stay on track and maintain a sense of stability.We want to surround ourselves with support systems, including medication, routines, and other strategies tailored to our individual needs. We can also reach out to friends, family and other members of our communities for help in overcoming many of our ADHD challenges.We need to understand that neurodiversity is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Each person has unique strengths and challenges, and it's important to avoid comparing ourselves to others. We can celebrate our individuality and focus on personal growth and well-being.

This week I’m talking with Dez Rock, an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience and currently serves as the CEO at SIEMonster - a web security company. But today we’re focusing on her ADHD and how she believes it has made her into an exceptional leader.In our conversation, we discuss our experiences with ADHD and its impact on our lives. We also talk about the importance of deadlines, the challenges and benefits of ADHD, and also touch on the significance of routine. And we also get into the need for support systems, the detrimental effects of shame, and the value of sharing personal stories within the neurodiverse community. Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/143" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/143</a> This Episode’s Top Tips<ol><li>Build routines and establish touchstones throughout the day to provide structure and support productivity. While routine can become boring, having a basic framework can help us stay on track and maintain a sense of stability.</li><li>We want to surround ourselves with support systems, including medication, routines, and other strategies tailored to our individual needs. We can also reach out to friends, family and other members of our communities for help in overcoming many of our ADHD challenges.</li><li>We need to understand that neurodiversity is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Each person has unique strengths and challenges, and it's important to avoid comparing ourselves to others. We can celebrate our individuality and focus on personal growth and well-being.</li></ol>

Exploring Neurodiversity and ADHD with Dez Rock

With ADHD we get to hear a lot of advice on how to get past our various symptoms. Sometimes that advice isn’t so bad, sometimes it’s pretty good - I mean that’s what I’m trying to do with this podcast. But more often than not the advice we get for how to deal with our ADHD is downright bad.In this episode we’re going to be exploring some of this unhelpful advice and what makes it bad and hopefully how we might be able to turn it around into something useful.Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/142This Episode’s Top TipsMuch of the ADHD advice available is not written by people with ADHD and doesn't consider the context and struggles of individuals with executive dysfunction. ADHD is a spectrum disorder with varying symptoms and levels, and advice may not work for everyone; individuals may have preferences or aversions to specific strategies or approaches based on their brain types.Common ADHD advice of "just do it" or "if you really wanted to do it, you'd do it" oversimplifies the challenges of ADHD and doesn’t take into account how the symptoms of ADHD are going to prevent you from following through on that advice.ADHD is a real and impairing disorder, not an excuse or laziness. ADHD symptoms are chronic and significantly impact daily life.

With ADHD we get to hear a lot of advice on how to get past our various symptoms. Sometimes that advice isn’t so bad, sometimes it’s pretty good - I mean that’s what I’m trying to do with this podcast. But more often than not the advice we get for how to deal with our ADHD is downright bad.In this episode we’re going to be exploring some of this unhelpful advice and what makes it bad and hopefully how we might be able to turn it around into something useful. Support me on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> Ask me a question on my <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/contact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Contact Page</a> Find the show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/142" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/142</a> This Episode’s Top Tips<ol><li>Much of the ADHD advice available is not written by people with ADHD and doesn't consider the context and struggles of individuals with executive dysfunction. ADHD is a spectrum disorder with varying symptoms and levels, and advice may not work for everyone; individuals may have preferences or aversions to specific strategies or approaches based on their brain types.</li><li>Common ADHD advice of "just do it" or "if you really wanted to do it, you'd do it" oversimplifies the challenges of ADHD and doesn’t take into account how the symptoms of ADHD are going to prevent you from following through on that advice.</li><li>ADHD is a real and impairing disorder, not an excuse or laziness. ADHD symptoms are chronic and significantly impact daily life.</li></ol>

Bad Advice

ADHD can be a struggle, but it doesn't always have to be. Every Monday, join William Curb, as he explores ways that you can work with your ADHD brain to do more of the things you want to do. If you have ADHD or someone in your life does and you want to get organized, get focused and get motivated then this podcast is for you. Part of the ADHD reWired Podcast Network.

Really Helpful

Love the first episode. Can’t wait to learn more hacking tips. Clever idea!

Love this concept!

Hacking Your ADHD

It's easy to get caught up in what neurotypicals do for productivity that we can forget that we're not neurotypical, we have ADHD. And when you've got ADHD sometimes you need to do things differently because our brains are wired differently. Even though neurotypicals sometimes struggle with a lot of the same issues that we are struggling with it doesn't mean we should always be trying the same strategies and tactics to get over those hurdles. What we need to do is find ways to work with our ADHD brains. Working with your ADHD brain is all about finding the strategies that work with your brain and avoiding the ones that are going to cause problems.This Episode's Top TipsWorking harder isn't always our best option - more often than not we just need to take a different approachIt's okay for us to just do less - especially when are staying focus on what matters most to usThe best strategies I've found for working with your ADHD are education and communityFor all the tools and other goodies mentioned in this episode, check out the full show notes at: HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/WorkingWith

It's easy to get caught up in what neurotypicals do for productivity that we can forget that we're not neurotypical, we have ADHD. And when you've got ADHD sometimes you need to do things differently because our brains are wired differently. Even though neurotypicals sometimes struggle with a lot of the same issues that we are struggling with it doesn't mean we should always be trying the same strategies and tactics to get over those hurdles. What we need to do is find ways to work with our ADHD brains. Working with your ADHD brain is all about finding the strategies that work with your brain and avoiding the ones that are going to cause problems. This Episode's Top Tips<ol><li>Working harder isn't always our best option - more often than not we just need to take a different approach</li><li>It's okay for us to just do less - especially when are staying focus on what matters most to us</li><li>The best strategies I've found for working with your ADHD are education and community</li></ol>For all the tools and other goodies mentioned in this episode, check out the full show notes at: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/podcast/workingwith" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/WorkingWith</a>

Working With Your ADHD

ADHD can make it hard to remember all the things that you need to remember on a daily basis. Things get forgotten and we end up missing important appointments because they simply slipped our mind. While everyone can have trouble with memory, it can be especially hard on those of us with ADHD because of how memory works with executive function.When we are thinking about memory it is important to distinguish between long-term memory and short-term memory. Long-term memory holds memories from weeks, months or years ago - while short term memory is all about the now with those memories lasting anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of days. Short-term memory is also sometimes also referred to as working memoryTo keep the information we store in our working memory we must put in effort to keep it there. If we don't put in effort to retain those memories they will be forgotten. We can hold about 5-9 memories in our short-term memory. It is important to note that when we are holding things in our working memory we are using our executive function. Since ADHD can also be considered a disorder of the executive function this means that it is harder for people with ADHD to use their working memory. To be clear we can simply define executive as what controls our ability to get thing done. It helps with things like time management, paying attention, remembering details and planning. You can think of executive function kind of like a well that you draw out of every time you do these things. Our reserve of executive function has ups and down with things like sleeping and eating helping to restore that reserve. We rely on executive function for a lot of thing so we don't want to drain it unnecessarily.The easiest thing we can do to reduce the strain on our executive function is to stop trying to store these memories in our heads and instead write them down. When we are writing down these reminders to ourselves we need to focus on creating reminders that are specific so we actually know what we were supposed to be reminded about. The second key is to create cues for these reminders so that we get reminded about these things when the information is actually relevant to us.In the instances where a written reminder isn't warranted such as going into another room just to get an object we can also struggle with remembering things. In a study from psychology Professor Gabriel Radvansky of Notre Dame found that doorways "serve as an 'event boundary' in the mind." In his study Radvansky found that subjects were more forgetful after walking through a doorway compared to when they walked the same distance across a room.To help with these instances of forgetfulness we can implement solutions like vocalization and visualization to help us remember what we needed.This Episode's Top TipsStoring things in our working memory relies on us using our executive function and we don't want to unnecessarily drain our executive function to just try and remember everythingWhen we are creating reminders for ourselves we need to make sure that they have a good cue for us and that they are specific enough that we will actually know what we were supposed to be reminded ofDoorways serve as event boundaries in our mind so we need to be mindful of trying to remember things when we are going to be going through a doorway.For all the tools and other goodies mentioned in this episode, check out the full show notes at: HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/RememberAnything

ADHD can make it hard to remember all the things that you need to remember on a daily basis. Things get forgotten and we end up missing important appointments because they simply slipped our mind. While everyone can have trouble with memory, it can be especially hard on those of us with ADHD because of how memory works with executive function.When we are thinking about memory it is important to distinguish between long-term memory and short-term memory. Long-term memory holds memories from weeks, months or years ago - while short term memory is all about the now with those memories lasting anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of days. Short-term memory is also sometimes also referred to as working memoryTo keep the information we store in our working memory we must put in effort to keep it there. If we don't put in effort to retain those memories they will be forgotten. We can hold about 5-9 memories in our short-term memory. It is important to note that when we are holding things in our working memory we are using our executive function. Since ADHD can also be considered a disorder of the executive function this means that it is harder for people with ADHD to use their working memory. To be clear we can simply define executive as what controls our ability to get thing done. It helps with things like time management, paying attention, remembering details and planning. You can think of executive function kind of like a well that you draw out of every time you do these things. Our reserve of executive function has ups and down with things like sleeping and eating helping to restore that reserve. We rely on executive function for a lot of thing so we don't want to drain it unnecessarily.The easiest thing we can do to reduce the strain on our executive function is to stop trying to store these memories in our heads and instead write them down. When we are writing down these reminders to ourselves we need to focus on creating reminders that are specific so we actually know what we were supposed to be reminded about. The second key is to create cues for these reminders so that we get reminded about these things when the information is actually relevant to us.In the instances where a written reminder isn't warranted such as going into another room just to get an object we can also struggle with remembering things. In a study from psychology Professor Gabriel Radvansky of Notre Dame found that doorways "serve as an 'event boundary' in the mind." In his study Radvansky found that subjects were more forgetful after walking through a doorway compared to when they walked the same distance across a room.To help with these instances of forgetfulness we can implement solutions like vocalization and visualization to help us remember what we needed.This Episode's Top Tips<ol><li>Storing things in our working memory relies on us using our executive function and we don't want to unnecessarily drain our executive function to just try and remember everything</li><li>When we are creating reminders for ourselves we need to make sure that they have a good cue for us and that they are specific enough that we will actually know what we were supposed to be reminded of</li><li>Doorways serve as event boundaries in our mind so we need to be mindful of trying to remember things when we are going to be going through a doorway.</li></ol>For all the tools and other goodies mentioned in this episode, check out the full show notes at: <a href="http://www.HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/RememberAnything" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/RememberAnything</a>

How to Remember Anything

Find the full show notes at HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/GSTToday we're going to be exploring the differences between goals, strategies and tactics.Simply put:Goals are a desired result we want to achieve.Strategies are the processes we use to achieve goals.Tactics are actions we take to implement strategies.Let's take a look at an example.A while back I decided to set the goal planning my week every week. My strategy at the time was to do my planning on Monday's right when I started work. This was a bad strategy, but it was compounded by the fact that I didn't have any specific tactics to make sure that I was doing my planning right when I got in. Coming in on Mondays I'd find myself just jumping into whatever needed to be done first and telling myself that I'd get to my planning right afterwards. That rarely actually happened. And while it might have been a good idea to actually try some different tactics here I didn't realize that was the issue, so I instead opted to change my strategy.I decided that I wanted to try and start planning my week over the weekend. This was a great idea in theory but ended up being a mess because I again didn't implement any solid tactics to make sure that I was getting my planning done. With all my family commitments on weekends I found that I had trouble finding time to do my planning. I liked the results when I did manage to plan on the weekend but I wasn't able to do it consistently.I ended up changing my strategy again and was able to get it to stick, because this time I also decided to add some tactics. Now I plan my next week on the Friday afternoons and instead of just trying to find time on Fridays, I created a reoccurring event on my calendar specifically for planning on Friday afternoons. By blocking off that time ahead of time I couldn't schedule any other projects then without moving that time block (which sometimes I do have to do).The biggest reason this has worked for me is because let's be honest, you never just find time to do things - if it isn't in your calendar it probably isn't a priority. When I'm at my office I'm able to respect my time blocks a lot more easily. When I'm at home with the kids they are my priority and so I can't rely on having as consistent time blocks - and this comes back to the idea of working with your ADHD and what works for you. Sure I'm "sacrificing" my Friday afternoons to make my planning happen, but planning is important for managing my ADHD and so it is totally worth it.SMART GoalsNow that we've got a better understanding of the differences between strategies and tactics let's talk a little bit about goal setting. There are a lot of ways to set your goals but today we're just going to be talking about SMART goals.SMART stands for:SpecificMeasurableAttainableRelevantTimelyWhen I'm sitting down during the goal setting process I'll often start with a nebulous goal such as: I want to get in better shape. To gain clarity on what I actually want out of this goal we'll run it through the SMART goal methodology.We'll start by getting specific. What does getting in shape mean? For me getting in shape might mean getting to the gym more and eating healthier. The key when making things specific is to also focus on making them into ways that can also be measurable. Looking at that first part we can say I want to go to the gym at least 2 times a week. This makes it both specific (we know exactly what needs to happen) and measurable (we know the frequency, twice a week).Eating healthier is a lot harder to quantify, so we're going to have to change the wording so that we can make this measurable - let's go with I want to eat 3 healthy meals a week. If we want to get real nitty-gritty we might also want to define wh

Find the full show notes at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/podcast/GST" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/GST</a> Today we're going to be exploring the differences between goals, strategies and tactics.Simply put:<ul><li>Goals are a desired result we want to achieve.</li><li>Strategies are the processes we use to achieve goals.</li><li>Tactics are actions we take to implement strategies.</li></ul>Let's take a look at an example.A while back I decided to set the goal planning my week every week. My strategy at the time was to do my planning on Monday's right when I started work. This was a bad strategy, but it was compounded by the fact that I didn't have any specific tactics to make sure that I was doing my planning right when I got in. Coming in on Mondays I'd find myself just jumping into whatever needed to be done first and telling myself that I'd get to my planning right afterwards. That rarely actually happened. And while it might have been a good idea to actually try some different tactics here I didn't realize that was the issue, so I instead opted to change my strategy.I decided that I wanted to try and start planning my week over the weekend. This was a great idea in theory but ended up being a mess because I again didn't implement any solid tactics to make sure that I was getting my planning done. With all my family commitments on weekends I found that I had trouble finding time to do my planning. I liked the results when I did manage to plan on the weekend but I wasn't able to do it consistently.I ended up changing my strategy again and was able to get it to stick, because this time I also decided to add some tactics. Now I plan my next week on the Friday afternoons and instead of just trying to find time on Fridays, I created a reoccurring event on my calendar specifically for planning on Friday afternoons. By blocking off that time ahead of time I couldn't schedule any other projects then without moving that time block (which sometimes I do have to do).The biggest reason this has worked for me is because let's be honest, you never just find time to do things - if it isn't in your calendar it probably isn't a priority. When I'm at my office I'm able to respect my time blocks a lot more easily. When I'm at home with the kids they are my priority and so I can't rely on having as consistent time blocks - and this comes back to the idea of working with your ADHD and what works for you. Sure I'm "sacrificing" my Friday afternoons to make my planning happen, but planning is important for managing my ADHD and so it is totally worth it.SMART GoalsNow that we've got a better understanding of the differences between strategies and tactics let's talk a little bit about goal setting. There are a lot of ways to set your goals but today we're just going to be talking about SMART goals.SMART stands for:<ul><li>Specific</li><li>Measurable</li><li>Attainable</li><li>Relevant</li><li>Timely</li></ul>When I'm sitting down during the goal setting process I'll often start with a nebulous goal such as: I want to get in better shape. To gain clarity on what I actually want out of this goal we'll run it through the SMART goal methodology.We'll start by getting specific. What does getting in shape mean? For me getting in shape might mean getting to the gym more and eating healthier. The key when making things specific is to also focus on making them into ways that can also be measurable. Looking at that first part we can say I want to go to the gym at least 2 times a week. This makes it both specific (we know exactly what needs to happen) and measurable (we know the frequency, twice a week).Eating healthier is a lot harder to quantify, so we're going to have to change the wording so that we can make this measurable - let's go with I want to eat 3 healthy meals a week. If we want to get real nitty-gritty we might also want to define wh

Goals, Strategies and Tactics

Let me ask you, what's the most important thing on your to-do list? What the thing that if you did it would make you satisfied with what you accomplished today? Sometimes we've got a clear picture of what our most important thing we've got to do is - usually it's something that's due that day - maybe even something that was due, yesterday. But we can't always rely on urgency to be our guide for prioritization. If you're struggling to figure out what's the most important thing to do, you're not alone. Picking out the tasks that are going to make the biggest difference is a hard thing to do and something that we're kind of just expected to understand - yet often there's no clear reason why doing task A is better than doing task B. As we are approaching the end of the year I've been thinking about what I want to do next year and what things are going to make the most difference in my life. So today I'm going to be exploring how we can determine what those most important tasks are and how we can make them a priority.Check out the full show notes and episode transcript at: HackingYourADHD.com/PrioritiesThis Episode’s Top TipsTo really get the most out of setting your priorities you've first got to understand what your values areYou can use the Eisenhower Priority Matrix to separate your tasks into Important and Urgent, Important but not Urgent, Urgent but Not Important and Not Important and Not UrgentLarge projects should be broken down into their component parts, once they are broken down look for tasks that are bottle necks or that will make other tasks easier to complete - those should become your priorities

Let me ask you, what's the most important thing on your to-do list? What the thing that if you did it would make you satisfied with what you accomplished today? Sometimes we've got a clear picture of what our most important thing we've got to do is - usually it's something that's due that day - maybe even something that was due, yesterday. But we can't always rely on urgency to be our guide for prioritization. If you're struggling to figure out what's the most important thing to do, you're not alone. Picking out the tasks that are going to make the biggest difference is a hard thing to do and something that we're kind of just expected to understand - yet often there's no clear reason why doing task A is better than doing task B. As we are approaching the end of the year I've been thinking about what I want to do next year and what things are going to make the most difference in my life. So today I'm going to be exploring how we can determine what those most important tasks are and how we can make them a priority.Check out the full show notes and episode transcript at: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/priorities" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/Priorities</a> This Episode’s Top Tips<ol><li>To really get the most out of setting your priorities you've first got to understand what your values are</li><li>You can use the Eisenhower Priority Matrix to separate your tasks into Important and Urgent, Important but not Urgent, Urgent but Not Important and Not Important and Not Urgent</li><li>Large projects should be broken down into their component parts, once they are broken down look for tasks that are bottle necks or that will make other tasks easier to complete - those should become your priorities</li></ol>

How To Make Time For The Important Stuff

Find the full show note at HackingYourADHD.com/habitsThis week we're going to be exploring the power of habit and how small changes to our routines can have a big impact. One of the easiest ways we can help our ADHD is by working on routines and habits. It's easy to let our default habits run our lives but when we consciously choose what habits we actually want to cultivate we aren't hamstringing ourselves. In this episode we'll be learning why we don't need to use discipline nearly as much as we think, the importance of sequencing in our habits and how we can make tweaks in those sequences so that we can change our habits to the ones we actually want. Today's Top TipsDon't rely on discipline, instead use your habits to help you navigate the hard stuff.Our habits are so ingrained that we don't always realize what we're doing while we're doing them.Our habits follow the path of least resistance - if you want to change a bad habit, add resistance. If you want to form a new habit, reduce the resistance to that habit.You can automate processes in your habit sequences so that you aren't relying on discipline.

Find the full show note at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/habits" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/habits</a> This week we're going to be exploring the power of habit and how small changes to our routines can have a big impact. One of the easiest ways we can help our ADHD is by working on routines and habits. It's easy to let our default habits run our lives but when we consciously choose what habits we actually want to cultivate we aren't hamstringing ourselves. In this episode we'll be learning why we don't need to use discipline nearly as much as we think, the importance of sequencing in our habits and how we can make tweaks in those sequences so that we can change our habits to the ones we actually want.  Today's Top Tips<ol><li>Don't rely on discipline, instead use your habits to help you navigate the hard stuff.</li><li>Our habits are so ingrained that we don't always realize what we're doing while we're doing them.</li><li>Our habits follow the path of least resistance - if you want to change a bad habit, add resistance. If you want to form a new habit, reduce the resistance to that habit.</li><li>You can automate processes in your habit sequences so that you aren't relying on discipline.</li></ol>

Tweaking Your Habits for Better Results

Find the full show notes at HackingYourADHD.com/TheONEThingIn this week's episode, I am going to be going over the book The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan - I was introduced to this book by Eric Tivers through the ADHD reWired Coaching and Accountability groups. I can't remember if it was required reading or just strongly encouraged when I took the groups, but the messages in this book were key to getting through the coaching groups.My first reading of the book was on audiobook and since then I've listened to it three more and read the physical version of the book twice. The subtitle of the book is, "The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results" - and as I've mentioned before, just because something is simple doesn't make it easy. Each reading has helped me understand the concepts a little bit better and I was always able to pick up a few new things.Today I'm going to be going over the "surprisingly simple truth" in the book and discussing how we can better apply it for our ADHD brains.Today's Top TipsUse the focusing question to help you determine your one thing - the focusing question again is: "What's the ONE Thing that you can do such by doing it that everything else is easier or unnecessary?"Change your thinking and value your time by saying "no" more and time blocking time for your ONE ThingYou can have a ONE Thing for each of your life domains, but they should all be working toward a common purposeIf you liked this episode I'd recommend you check out the book the ONE Thing and read through it on your own - I skimmed a lot of parts for this episode so I'm sure you could get a lot more out of it. You can find a link to the book on the show notes page.

Find the full show notes at <a href="http://HackingYourADHD.com/TheONEThing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/TheONEThing</a> In this week's episode, I am going to be going over the book The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan - I was introduced to this book by Eric Tivers through the ADHD reWired Coaching and Accountability groups. I can't remember if it was required reading or just strongly encouraged when I took the groups, but the messages in this book were key to getting through the coaching groups.My first reading of the book was on audiobook and since then I've listened to it three more and read the physical version of the book twice. The subtitle of the book is, "The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results" - and as I've mentioned before, just because something is simple doesn't make it easy. Each reading has helped me understand the concepts a little bit better and I was always able to pick up a few new things.Today I'm going to be going over the "surprisingly simple truth" in the book and discussing how we can better apply it for our ADHD brains. Today's Top Tips<ol><li>Use the focusing question to help you determine your one thing - the focusing question again is: "What's the ONE Thing that you can do such by doing it that everything else is easier or unnecessary?"</li><li>Change your thinking and value your time by saying "no" more and time blocking time for your ONE Thing</li><li>You can have a ONE Thing for each of your life domains, but they should all be working toward a common purpose</li><li>If you liked this episode I'd recommend you check out the book the ONE Thing and read through it on your own - I skimmed a lot of parts for this episode so I'm sure you could get a lot more out of it. You can find a link to the book on the show notes page.</li></ol>

Breaking Down The ONE Thing

I've been carrying around a smartphone in my pocket for more than 10 years - I started off with the first iPhone and have since gone over to Android, dabbled with the Windows Phones for a few years and then ended back up with an iPhone again. Through my years with my phone I've learned that it can be a great asset and help me with a number of my ADHD difficulties; however, I've also felt the dark side of the phone as well. Games, social media, email and all those notifications. ADHD makes it really easy for us to get off track so we want to be making sure that we're not letting our phones dictate our next actions. Through trial and error phone designers have been making it harder and harder for us to put down our phone. Since we have ADHD this means that it is almost too easy for us to get distracted when we pop open our phone to just check the time. The screen lights up and suddenly we're hit with a hundred different ways our attention should go. This week we'll be focusing on ways to set up your phone to be less distracting and we're going to work on setting up our phones intentionally to make sure that we're paying attention to what apps we have on our phone and where those apps are located. We'll also be looking at other ways to reduce the constant stream of distractions that our phones can produce.Find the full show notes at: HackingYourADHD.com/ADHDPhoneThis Episode's Top Tips 1. Purge any apps that you don't need on your phone - both unused apps and also apps that pull you in too much. 2. Organize your apps so that your most useful apps are easy to open and your distracting apps are hidden. 3. Turn off most of your notifications and make use of your Do Not Disturb feature. 4. Check out your phone's screentime feature and set some sensible restrictions on how much time you are spending on your phone.

I've been carrying around a smartphone in my pocket for more than 10 years - I started off with the first iPhone and have since gone over to Android, dabbled with the Windows Phones for a few years and then ended back up with an iPhone again. Through my years with my phone I've learned that it can be a great asset and help me with a number of my ADHD difficulties; however, I've also felt the dark side of the phone as well. Games, social media, email and all those notifications. ADHD makes it really easy for us to get off track so we want to be making sure that we're not letting our phones dictate our next actions. Through trial and error phone designers have been making it harder and harder for us to put down our phone. Since we have ADHD this means that it is almost too easy for us to get distracted when we pop open our phone to just check the time. The screen lights up and suddenly we're hit with a hundred different ways our attention should go. This week we'll be focusing on ways to set up your phone to be less distracting and we're going to work on setting up our phones intentionally to make sure that we're paying attention to what apps we have on our phone and where those apps are located. We'll also be looking at other ways to reduce the constant stream of distractions that our phones can produce. Find the full show notes at: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/ADHDPhone" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/ADHDPhone</a> This Episode's Top Tips 1. Purge any apps that you don't need on your phone - both unused apps and also apps that pull you in too much. 2. Organize your apps so that your most useful apps are easy to open and your distracting apps are hidden. 3. Turn off most of your notifications and make use of your Do Not Disturb feature. 4. Check out your phone's screentime feature and set some sensible restrictions on how much time you are spending on your phone.

How to Make your Smart Phone ADHD Friendly (Part 1)

Be sure to check out the full show notes at: HackingYourADHD.com/planning2020Today we're going to be working on planning out our 2020. If you haven't given much thought to planning your year before I think you'll get a lot out of this episode - planning is one of those things that we sometimes think doesn't play well with ADHD, but I've learned that planning is actually one of the most effective ways to manage my ADHD. We're always going to be impulsive and that's not a bad thing but sometimes we want to want to rein that in and our best chance at reining in impulsivity is forethought. In our session today we're going to be going over how to set goals without making them too challenging, figuring out where our focus is going to be next year, updating our calendars with the most important stuff first (you might be surprised with what that is) and then going over why we want to be doing our most important goals first.This Episode’s Top TipsFind your Goldilocks Zone of Challenge for Goal SettingExamine your life domains and choose one to focus on this yearRe-write your goals from outcome based goals into process goalsOnce you have set dates scheduled into your calendar, schedule out your vacation and planning time before anything elsePlan to do your 2-3 most important goals in the beginning of the year

Be sure to check out the full show notes at: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/planning2020" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/planning2020</a> Today we're going to be working on planning out our 2020. If you haven't given much thought to planning your year before I think you'll get a lot out of this episode - planning is one of those things that we sometimes think doesn't play well with ADHD, but I've learned that planning is actually one of the most effective ways to manage my ADHD. We're always going to be impulsive and that's not a bad thing but sometimes we want to want to rein that in and our best chance at reining in impulsivity is forethought. In our session today we're going to be going over how to set goals without making them too challenging, figuring out where our focus is going to be next year, updating our calendars with the most important stuff first (you might be surprised with what that is) and then going over why we want to be doing our most important goals first. This Episode’s Top Tips<ol><li>Find your Goldilocks Zone of Challenge for Goal Setting</li><li>Examine your life domains and choose one to focus on this year</li><li>Re-write your goals from outcome based goals into process goals</li><li>Once you have set dates scheduled into your calendar, schedule out your vacation and planning time before anything else</li><li>Plan to do your 2-3 most important goals in the beginning of the year</li></ol>

How to Plan Your 2020 Without Getting Overwhelmed

Find the Full Show Notes:HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/journalingThis Episode's Top TipsJournaling allows us to think through our problems and improve our emotional well beingYou've got a lot of options for how to journal - be it with pen and paper, digital, or an audio or video journal make sure you are choosing the option that is best for your ADHD brain. To be successful at journaling we've got treat it like any other habit that we want to form and start off easy - by thinking ahead we can come up with strategies that will make it easier for us to sit down and actually write. Remember to approach your journal with compassion - you're not going to be solving any problems just by beating yourself up.

Find the Full Show Notes: <a href="http://HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/journaling" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/journaling</a> This Episode's Top Tips<ol><li>Journaling allows us to think through our problems and improve our emotional well being</li><li>You've got a lot of options for how to journal - be it with pen and paper, digital, or an audio or video journal make sure you are choosing the option that is best for your ADHD brain. </li><li>To be successful at journaling we've got treat it like any other habit that we want to form and start off easy - by thinking ahead we can come up with strategies that will make it easier for us to sit down and actually write. </li><li>Remember to approach your journal with compassion - you're not going to be solving any problems just by beating yourself up.</li></ol>

How to Journal Even When You Have ADHD

Exhausted, empty, overloaded, unable to cope - these are some of the words I'll find myself using when I'm feeling burned out or on the path to burnout. We tend to find ourselves in burnout after prolonged periods of stress - it isn't something that sets in all at once. It isn't that we finally have a straw that breaks the camel's back, instead we just eventually find ourselves waking up one morning and realizing we just can't even. We find that we've lost our passion and drive for everything in front of us. We might still find ways to be productive but we tend to be robotic about it and it just drains us more and more.Burnout is hard. Today we're going to start out by discussing what burnout actually is and I'm also going to talk about some of the times I hit burnout. We're also going to be looking at what we can do to prevent burn and then what to do if we still hit burnout anyways.For full show notes go to:HackingYourADHD.com/burnoutToday's Top TipsBurnout consists of three parts - exhaustion (both mental and physical), loss of meaning in our work, and a feeling ineptitude. Burnout is a slow grind and we've got to pay attention to why we're feeling unmotivated when doing tasks we normally enjoy.We want to prevent burnout by setting healthy boundaries around our work, prioritizing self-care, and remembering to take time off. Not comparing ourselves to others and accepting that our ADHD makes things hard will also help us with not feeling like we're so far behind everyone else.If we do hit burnout, we need to reassess what are needs are and identify what was causing us to burnout. Take sometime off and figure out what really matters to you. We often hit burnout when our rewards don't match our efforts.

Exhausted, empty, overloaded, unable to cope - these are some of the words I'll find myself using when I'm feeling burned out or on the path to burnout. We tend to find ourselves in burnout after prolonged periods of stress - it isn't something that sets in all at once. It isn't that we finally have a straw that breaks the camel's back, instead we just eventually find ourselves waking up one morning and realizing we just can't even. We find that we've lost our passion and drive for everything in front of us. We might still find ways to be productive but we tend to be robotic about it and it just drains us more and more.Burnout is hard. Today we're going to start out by discussing what burnout actually is and I'm also going to talk about some of the times I hit burnout. We're also going to be looking at what we can do to prevent burn and then what to do if we still hit burnout anyways. For full show notes go to: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/burnout" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/burnout </a> Today's Top Tips<ol><li>Burnout consists of three parts - exhaustion (both mental and physical), loss of meaning in our work, and a feeling ineptitude. Burnout is a slow grind and we've got to pay attention to why we're feeling unmotivated when doing tasks we normally enjoy.</li><li>We want to prevent burnout by setting healthy boundaries around our work, prioritizing self-care, and remembering to take time off. Not comparing ourselves to others and accepting that our ADHD makes things hard will also help us with not feeling like we're so far behind everyone else.</li><li>If we do hit burnout, we need to reassess what are needs are and identify what was causing us to burnout. Take sometime off and figure out what really matters to you. We often hit burnout when our rewards don't match our efforts.</li></ol>

Getting off the Hamster Wheel (Before You Burnout)

When I'm working on this podcast sometimes I wish my boss would be a little harder on me because it can be easy for me to get behind - but my boss is kind of laid back and lets me get away with more than I should - and that's probably because my boss is me. When I can't count on myself to get the things I need to turn to others to help me out. A lot of us with ADHD can have trouble turning to others when we need help, but we don't have to do things alone. And one of the best ways others can help you is through accountability. Today I'm going to talk about what accountability is, what it isn't and ways that you can get some more into your life so that you can follow through with your intentions.Find the full show note on my web page: HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/CompassionateAssKickingToday's Top TipsAccountability is about stating what your intentions are to someone else so that you can accountable to them about whether or not you followed through with those intentionsThere are a lot of ways that you can build accountability into your life - like body doubling and accountability teamsWhen forming an accountability team make sure everyone is on the same page when you are starting up so that everyone knows what to expect and what is expected of them

When I'm working on this podcast sometimes I wish my boss would be a little harder on me because it can be easy for me to get behind - but my boss is kind of laid back and lets me get away with more than I should - and that's probably because my boss is me. When I can't count on myself to get the things I need to turn to others to help me out. A lot of us with ADHD can have trouble turning to others when we need help, but we don't have to do things alone. And one of the best ways others can help you is through accountability. Today I'm going to talk about what accountability is, what it isn't and ways that you can get some more into your life so that you can follow through with your intentions.Find the full show note on my web page: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/podcast/compassionateasskicking" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/CompassionateAssKicking</a> Today's Top Tips<ol><li>Accountability is about stating what your intentions are to someone else so that you can accountable to them about whether or not you followed through with those intentions</li><li>There are a lot of ways that you can build accountability into your life - like body doubling and accountability teams</li><li>When forming an accountability team make sure everyone is on the same page when you are starting up so that everyone knows what to expect and what is expected of them</li></ol>

Compassionate Ass-Kicking For The Win

When you've got ADHD making reminders is a given. There's just too much going on in any one given day for me to keep track of it all and without reminders I know I'm going to drop the ball somewhere. I've got reminders for big things like when I need to leave to pick up my kids from school and little things like having a cup of tea in the evening but not too close to bedtime.So when I get told I just need to create a reminder to remember something I just want to shout that I already am using a lot of reminders. A big problem with a lot of reminders is that they just aren't effective at getting us to do the things they are supposed to be reminding us of. Today we're going to be exploring the ways that we can make better reminders so that we're actually following through on them. We'll be looking at what we're creating reminders for. How and when we are getting those reminders and also look at how we are creating our system of reminders.Find the full show note at: HackingYourADHD.com/EffectiveRemindersToday's Top TipsThe most important aspect of a reminder is having it delivered when you can do something about it - you can do this by thinking through the context of a reminder. If you need a reminder at work make sure you are getting it when you are at work. Reminders are great for reminding you of things, but not for doing unscheduled tasks. Leave projects on your to-do list and actually schedule a time for them instead of creating a reminder that you are never going to do. Reminders can either be short-term or long-term but regardless of what kind of reminder you are creating you want to make sure you are giving yourself enough information to follow through on what you were trying to remind yourself about. Create a combination of physical and digital reminders so that you can get the most out of your reminder systems. Physical reminders tend to be faster to set up but digital reminders can be more robust in how they are reminding you.

When you've got ADHD making reminders is a given. There's just too much going on in any one given day for me to keep track of it all and without reminders I know I'm going to drop the ball somewhere. I've got reminders for big things like when I need to leave to pick up my kids from school and little things like having a cup of tea in the evening but not too close to bedtime.So when I get told I just need to create a reminder to remember something I just want to shout that I already am using a lot of reminders. A big problem with a lot of reminders is that they just aren't effective at getting us to do the things they are supposed to be reminding us of. Today we're going to be exploring the ways that we can make better reminders so that we're actually following through on them. We'll be looking at what we're creating reminders for. How and when we are getting those reminders and also look at how we are creating our system of reminders. Find the full show note at: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/podcast/how-to-create-more-effective-reminders" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/EffectiveReminders</a> Today's Top Tips<ol><li>The most important aspect of a reminder is having it delivered when you can do something about it - you can do this by thinking through the context of a reminder. If you need a reminder at work make sure you are getting it when you are at work. </li><li>Reminders are great for reminding you of things, but not for doing unscheduled tasks. Leave projects on your to-do list and actually schedule a time for them instead of creating a reminder that you are never going to do. </li><li>Reminders can either be short-term or long-term but regardless of what kind of reminder you are creating you want to make sure you are giving yourself enough information to follow through on what you were trying to remind yourself about. </li><li>Create a combination of physical and digital reminders so that you can get the most out of your reminder systems. Physical reminders tend to be faster to set up but digital reminders can be more robust in how they are reminding you.</li></ol>

How to Create More Effective Reminders

Find show notes for this episode at HackingYourADHD.Com/DearADHDThanks for joining me for the very last episode of 2019 - in this episode, I'm writing a letter to my ADHD. This is an exercise I got from Eric Tiver's ADHD reWired Coaching and Accountability groups. I'll be honest, I wasn't all that keen on writing a letter to my ADHD when I first heard about the exercise, but it was surprisingly refreshing to address that part of myself. Since my first letter to my ADHD I've tried to write another one about four times a year. When I write these letters it gives me an excellent chance to check in with how my relationship with my ADHD is going. Sometimes it's going really well, while other times I've found myself to be really struggling. If you'd like to write your own letter to your ADHD, just set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write whatever feels right to say to your ADHD. There's no wrong way to write your letter - and don't worry, I've heard a number of these that start with Dear ADHD, F - you.  The great part about doing this exercise is that you get a nice record of how your relationship with ADHD is going - I can look back and see how I was doing mentally when I last checked in.

Find show notes for this episode at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/dearadhd" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.Com/DearADHD</a> Thanks for joining me for the very last episode of 2019 - in this episode, I'm writing a letter to my ADHD. This is an exercise I got from Eric Tiver's ADHD reWired Coaching and Accountability groups. I'll be honest, I wasn't all that keen on writing a letter to my ADHD when I first heard about the exercise, but it was surprisingly refreshing to address that part of myself. Since my first letter to my ADHD I've tried to write another one about four times a year. When I write these letters it gives me an excellent chance to check in with how my relationship with my ADHD is going. Sometimes it's going really well, while other times I've found myself to be really struggling. If you'd like to write your own letter to your ADHD, just set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write whatever feels right to say to your ADHD. There's no wrong way to write your letter - and don't worry, I've heard a number of these that start with Dear ADHD, F - you.  The great part about doing this exercise is that you get a nice record of how your relationship with ADHD is going - I can look back and see how I was doing mentally when I last checked in.

Dear ADHD

Today we're going to be walking through the process of how to conduct an end of year review by letting you in while I went through my own review. Head over to the show notes page to grab a copy of the Review Your Year PDF that I use in this episode: HackingYourADHD.com/2019ReviewSince I've started doing yearly reviews, I've realized that I'm pretty bad at looking back. Often I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels, but it turns out that it's just that my rearview mirror is broken. The problem is that when I look back I tend to only remember a small fraction of what went on over the year. I mean even when I've tried doing a weekly review I find that I can't actually accurately remember what went on that week. But that doesn't mean that we can't do something to help jog our memories.This Episode’s Top TipsList out your goals for 2019 and see which ones you completed (and it's okay if you didn't get them all - I didn't hit many of mine this year)Go through your calendar week by week and find all the things that you've forgotten about over the yearSeparate everything you did this year into their various life domains so you can see where you've spent most of your timeUsing all the information you gathered, spend some time writing and reflecting on how your year wentKeep all this information handy for next week when we start planning our yearAnd be sure to connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to let me know what your top takeaway was from this episode.

Today we're going to be walking through the process of how to conduct an end of year review by letting you in while I went through my own review. Head over to the show notes page to grab a copy of the Review Your Year PDF that I use in this episode: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/2019review" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/2019Review</a> Since I've started doing yearly reviews, I've realized that I'm pretty bad at looking back. Often I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels, but it turns out that it's just that my rearview mirror is broken. The problem is that when I look back I tend to only remember a small fraction of what went on over the year. I mean even when I've tried doing a weekly review I find that I can't actually accurately remember what went on that week. But that doesn't mean that we can't do something to help jog our memories. This Episode’s Top Tips<ol><li>List out your goals for 2019 and see which ones you completed (and it's okay if you didn't get them all - I didn't hit many of mine this year)</li><li>Go through your calendar week by week and find all the things that you've forgotten about over the year</li><li>Separate everything you did this year into their various life domains so you can see where you've spent most of your time</li><li>Using all the information you gathered, spend some time writing and reflecting on how your year went</li><li>Keep all this information handy for next week when we start planning our year</li></ol>And be sure to connect with me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/hackingyouradhd" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/HackingYourADHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> to let me know what your top takeaway was from this episode.

Looking Back on 2019 for a Great 2020

This week we're going to be hitting Working With Your ADHD. One of my biggest struggles with ADHD often comes from my belief that if I just tried harder I'd be able to overcome anything that my ADHD was throwing at me, but surprise surprise that just isn't the case. In today's episode, we're going to be looking at why we don't want to just keep trying to do the same things as neurotypicals, why we struggle so much with the idea of trying harder and also some of the strategies that are going to support us the best.Find the show notes at HackingYourADHD.com/WorkingWithToday's Top Tips1. Pretending that we're neurotypical is exhausting and will lead us to use the wrong strategies for our brains.2. We shouldn't focus on just trying harder. It's okay for us to just do less, especially when we are staying focus on what matters most.3. The best strategies for working with your ADHD starts with accepting your ADHD. Make time to educate yourself about what's really happening in your ADHD brain and get involved with the ADHD community.

This week we're going to be hitting Working With Your ADHD. One of my biggest struggles with ADHD often comes from my belief that if I just tried harder I'd be able to overcome anything that my ADHD was throwing at me, but surprise surprise that just isn't the case. In today's episode, we're going to be looking at why we don't want to just keep trying to do the same things as neurotypicals, why we struggle so much with the idea of trying harder and also some of the strategies that are going to support us the best. Find the show notes at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/workingwith" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/WorkingWith</a> Today's Top Tips 1. Pretending that we're neurotypical is exhausting and will lead us to use the wrong strategies for our brains. 2. We shouldn't focus on just trying harder. It's okay for us to just do less, especially when we are staying focus on what matters most. 3. The best strategies for working with your ADHD starts with accepting your ADHD. Make time to educate yourself about what's really happening in your ADHD brain and get involved with the ADHD community.

Working With Your ADHD (Updated and Rebroadcast)

Last week was all about getting there and this week we're focusing on what to do when you get back. Travel disrupts our routines and habits - and we should take those disruptions seriously. One thing that I've had to learn over and over again is that ADHD makes transitions hard - and coming back from a trip is a big transition.This Episode's Top TipsIdentify your routines and habits before your trip so that when you get back you know where to pick things back up. Make sure you are paying special attention to your While you are traveling try and keep up as many of your habits and routines. If you need to, you can make small tweaks to them to make them easier while you are away.Make sure you are planning your days and regularly checking that plan once you get back. You can use a habit tracker to make sure you are follow through with all of your intentions.Find all the show notes at HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/RefocusedVacation

Last week was all about getting there and this week we're focusing on what to do when you get back. Travel disrupts our routines and habits - and we should take those disruptions seriously. One thing that I've had to learn over and over again is that ADHD makes transitions hard - and coming back from a trip is a big transition.This Episode's Top Tips<ol><li>Identify your routines and habits before your trip so that when you get back you know where to pick things back up. Make sure you are paying special attention to your </li><li>While you are traveling try and keep up as many of your habits and routines. If you need to, you can make small tweaks to them to make them easier while you are away.</li><li>Make sure you are planning your days and regularly checking that plan once you get back. You can use a habit tracker to make sure you are follow through with all of your intentions.</li></ol>Find all the show notes at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/podcast/refocusedvacation" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/podcast/RefocusedVacation</a>

How to Get Refocused After Your Vacation

This is the second part of the series on how to better manage your smartphone with your ADHD - you don't have to have listened to part 1 to listen to this episode, but if you like this episode I'd definitely recommend going back and listening to last week's episode as well. In that episode, we covered how we can limit the distractions that our smartphone can present and also how to make it easier on our ADHD brains when we're setting up our smartphone.This week we're going in a bit of a different direction - while smartphones can be easily distracting and endless entertaining, they also provide us with some great tools to help us manage our ADHD. In this episode I'm going to be discussing a number of the apps I use to help me navigate my day - since I use the iPhone that means most of the apps I specifically discuss are going to be iPhone apps; however, I do try and provide alternatives for Android. Find the Full Show Notes at: HackingYourADHD.com/ADHDPhone2Today's Top Tips 1. Make use of reminder apps on your phone - make sure to use lots of different sounds and to create recurring reminders for things that you need to be reminded of frequently. 2. Use your calendar as a reminder app as well - for important events make sure to have reminders well in advance so that you can plan for them ahead of time. 3. Get a good note-taking app for your phone and create a reminder to also look at the notes that you take throughout the day or week. 4. Take advantage of shortcuts on your phone so that you can do complicated tasks without getting distracted.

This is the second part of the series on how to better manage your smartphone with your ADHD - you don't have to have listened to part 1 to listen to this episode, but if you like this episode I'd definitely recommend going back and listening to last week's episode as well. In that episode, we covered how we can limit the distractions that our smartphone can present and also how to make it easier on our ADHD brains when we're setting up our smartphone.This week we're going in a bit of a different direction - while smartphones can be easily distracting and endless entertaining, they also provide us with some great tools to help us manage our ADHD. In this episode I'm going to be discussing a number of the apps I use to help me navigate my day - since I use the iPhone that means most of the apps I specifically discuss are going to be iPhone apps; however, I do try and provide alternatives for Android. Find the Full Show Notes at: <a href="http://hackingyouradhd.com/ADHDphone2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/ADHDPhone2</a> Today's Top Tips 1. Make use of reminder apps on your phone - make sure to use lots of different sounds and to create recurring reminders for things that you need to be reminded of frequently. 2. Use your calendar as a reminder app as well - for important events make sure to have reminders well in advance so that you can plan for them ahead of time. 3. Get a good note-taking app for your phone and create a reminder to also look at the notes that you take throughout the day or week. 4. Take advantage of shortcuts on your phone so that you can do complicated tasks without getting distracted.

How to Make your Smart Phone ADHD Friendly (Part 2)

This week we're going to be jumping - yeah, jumping because we're talking about exercise. I hope you're ready for some Jazzercise - but if that's not your groove I've got some other options for you as well. Somewhere in our heads, we all know that exercising more is something we "should" do, but it feels like the easiest thing in the world to put off. I mean just because when I look out my window and I can see it's raining doesn't mean I need to stay on my couch right now. In today's episode, we're going to be learning some of the reasons exercise is great for our ADHD brain. How we can work on making it easier to fit exercise into our schedules so that we actually do it, some different ways we can get our blood flowing and our hearts beating. And finally a few things we can do to make sure that we are keeping up with our routines.Find the full show notes at: HackingYourADHD.com/ADHDGymToday's Top TipsExercise is great for our ADHD brains by increasing our levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine.You want to try to get in 20-30 minutes of exercise a day, but if you're just starting out make sure that you're easing into it to avoid burning out.Find a type of exercise that you find fun and switch it up sometimes. A great way to do this is through sports and classes.Build-in some accountability for your exercise routines to make sure that you keep them going. 

This week we're going to be jumping - yeah, jumping because we're talking about exercise. I hope you're ready for some Jazzercise - but if that's not your groove I've got some other options for you as well. Somewhere in our heads, we all know that exercising more is something we "should" do, but it feels like the easiest thing in the world to put off. I mean just because when I look out my window and I can see it's raining doesn't mean I need to stay on my couch right now. In today's episode, we're going to be learning some of the reasons exercise is great for our ADHD brain. How we can work on making it easier to fit exercise into our schedules so that we actually do it, some different ways we can get our blood flowing and our hearts beating. And finally a few things we can do to make sure that we are keeping up with our routines. Find the full show notes at: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/ADHDGym" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/ADHDGym</a> Today's Top Tips<ol><li>Exercise is great for our ADHD brains by increasing our levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine.</li><li>You want to try to get in 20-30 minutes of exercise a day, but if you're just starting out make sure that you're easing into it to avoid burning out.</li><li>Find a type of exercise that you find fun and switch it up sometimes. A great way to do this is through sports and classes.</li><li>Build-in some accountability for your exercise routines to make sure that you keep them going. </li></ol>

ADHD in the Gym

I've played video games since before I was able to read - although that statement loses some of its weight once you find out that I didn't learn to read until I was in 4th grade - you know, dyslexia and all. Nonetheless, video games have been a part of my life for a long time. I mean, games are so ingrained in me that while I am writing this, I am listening to video game music - it's excellent for creating a relaxed focus. Video game music was specifically designed to help with attention - I'll link to some of my favorite game soundtracks in the show notes.Today we're going to be talking about why video games can engage the ADHD brain so well and how that can lead to video game addiction. We're also going to be discussing some of the more positive traits of video games as well as discussing some ways that we can cut back on how many video games we play.Check out the full show note at: HackingYourADHD.com/videogamesToday's Top TipsVideo games engage our brains through instant feedback and making us feel successful.Video games can be a great tool for learning and for your social life.We want to set sensible limits on video games in our lives - not all games are created equally, so choose what you play wisely. Be wary of the games you install on your phone.Game Addiction can be defined as problematic and compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment in your life - if you're seeing signs of video game addiction in your life or you simply need help quitting playing so many video games I'd like to urge you to go check out GameQuitters.com

I've played video games since before I was able to read - although that statement loses some of its weight once you find out that I didn't learn to read until I was in 4th grade - you know, dyslexia and all. Nonetheless, video games have been a part of my life for a long time. I mean, games are so ingrained in me that while I am writing this, I am listening to video game music - it's excellent for creating a relaxed focus. Video game music was specifically designed to help with attention - I'll link to some of my favorite game soundtracks in the show notes.Today we're going to be talking about why video games can engage the ADHD brain so well and how that can lead to video game addiction. We're also going to be discussing some of the more positive traits of video games as well as discussing some ways that we can cut back on how many video games we play. Check out the full show note at: <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/videogames" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/videogames </a> Today's Top Tips<ol><li>Video games engage our brains through instant feedback and making us feel successful.</li><li>Video games can be a great tool for learning and for your social life.</li><li>We want to set sensible limits on video games in our lives - not all games are created equally, so choose what you play wisely. Be wary of the games you install on your phone.</li><li>Game Addiction can be defined as problematic and compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment in your life - if you're seeing signs of video game addiction in your life or you simply need help quitting playing so many video games I'd like to urge you to go check out <a href="http://gamequitters.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GameQuitters.com</a></li></ol>

ADVGD: Attention Deficit Video Game Disorder

When I was in school, I always wanted to be the kind of student who able to finish a project well before it needed to be turned in. I loved the idea that I could write a paper and still have a week left to polish it. Of course, I was never actually that student. For me to get started on a paper, I had to actually be able to feel that pressure from the deadline building up on me. That usually meant that I was mostly working on papers the night before - I'm sure a lot of you can relate. Since I was still able to get good grades with this strategy, I never really changed it - but I always wished that I wasn't always riding by the seat of my pants. Despite having a good track record, there were times that I missed those deadlines.And a funny thing about it was that I always wanted more time to write my papers. In my brain, if the deadline was pushed farther out I would have had more time to start, and yet experience has taught me that it really didn't matter how much time I was given to complete a paper. Given a week or month, I would still procrastinate until the last minute. When those deadlines were moving in on me, I was able to focus like no other. The time pressure allowed me to block out all those other distracting ideas vying for my attention.Today we're going to be exploring how we can use this time pressure to complete those nagging tasks that we otherwise might not get done and also those things we want to do but just can't seem to prioritize. We'll also be looking at better ways to set deadlines so that we can follow through with our intentions.Check out the show notes at HackingYourADHD.com/deadlinesToday's Top TipsTime pressure from deadlines allows us to focus on the tasks in front of us and distill our work down to the most important parts.When setting deadlines we want to make sure that they are relevant to either us or the project. A great way to do this is through accountability and getting someone else to check in on your progress.Deadlines need to be realistic if we plan on meeting them. Time blindness can make it hard to know how long something is actually going to take, but if we break down our projects into chunks we can work on hitting milestones with mini-deadlines.

When I was in school, I always wanted to be the kind of student who able to finish a project well before it needed to be turned in. I loved the idea that I could write a paper and still have a week left to polish it. Of course, I was never actually that student. For me to get started on a paper, I had to actually be able to feel that pressure from the deadline building up on me. That usually meant that I was mostly working on papers the night before - I'm sure a lot of you can relate. Since I was still able to get good grades with this strategy, I never really changed it - but I always wished that I wasn't always riding by the seat of my pants. Despite having a good track record, there were times that I missed those deadlines.And a funny thing about it was that I always wanted more time to write my papers. In my brain, if the deadline was pushed farther out I would have had more time to start, and yet experience has taught me that it really didn't matter how much time I was given to complete a paper. Given a week or month, I would still procrastinate until the last minute. When those deadlines were moving in on me, I was able to focus like no other. The time pressure allowed me to block out all those other distracting ideas vying for my attention.Today we're going to be exploring how we can use this time pressure to complete those nagging tasks that we otherwise might not get done and also those things we want to do but just can't seem to prioritize. We'll also be looking at better ways to set deadlines so that we can follow through with our intentions. Check out the show notes at <a href="https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/deadlines" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HackingYourADHD.com/deadlines</a> Today's Top Tips <ol><li>Time pressure from deadlines allows us to focus on the tasks in front of us and distill our work down to the most important parts.</li><li>When setting deadlines we want to make sure that they are relevant to either us or the project. A great way to do this is through accountability and getting someone else to check in on your progress.</li><li>Deadlines need to be realistic if we plan on meeting them. Time blindness can make it hard to know how long something is actually going to take, but if we break down our projects into chunks we can work on hitting milestones with mini-deadlines.</li></ol>

The Surprising Magic of Setting a Deadline

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